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EP. REVIEW: DAN DA DAN


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garfield15



Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1536
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 9:32 am Reply with quote
Quote:
I hope you all have a tolerance for enthusiastic relationship cheerleading because I have become a diehard Okarun and Momo shipper. My soul will never be at peace until these adorable kids fall in love, get married, and slaughter some dick-gobbling aliens for their honeymoon.


You get me completely.
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Dr. Wily



Joined: 09 Nov 2007
Posts: 385
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 11:12 am Reply with quote
Getting Rita Repulsa to voice Turbo Granny in the English dub is perhaps the greatest dub casting in the history of the medium.

Anyway I read the first few chapters of the manga a long time back and put it down after the borderline sexual assault the aliens pull at the start. But I powered through that in the anime premiere after I had some very persistent friends push me on it and now I'm in love. Now I'm just gonna be fighting the urge to binge the manga so I don't spoil the anime for myself (at least until the season's over, then my willpower will evaporate, I'm sure)
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benzone



Joined: 16 Sep 2024
Posts: 35
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 11:16 am Reply with quote
garfield15 wrote:
Quote:
I hope you all have a tolerance for enthusiastic relationship cheerleading because I have become a diehard Okarun and Momo shipper. My soul will never be at peace until these adorable kids fall in love, get married, and slaughter some dick-gobbling aliens for their honeymoon.


You get me completely.


Nah. Momo, a smart, socially adept, athletic, attractive and capable girl, should do far better than emasculated - who already was metaphorically before he became so literally - loser Okarun. How is Okarun any different from the isekai and harem leads that ANN writers and commenters skewer?

Both of them remaining single would be an innovative choice. Why do they HAVE to be romantically involved just because they are teen co-leads? Or if they get romantically involved, why not with partners that are more similar?

Momo deserves a powerhouse more like herself; an equal. Okarun needs to spend YEARS bettering himself from his pathetic state - improve his grades and maybe pick up a trade, learn about the arts i.e. take a class to learn dance, painting or sculpting, get physically fit, learn some social skills and self confidence - or else he is just going to frustrate some poor girl with his issues, and then when she finally can't take it any more and inevitably breaks up with him, he is going to go vent misogynistic rants about her on some incel forum. And even after he puts in the work to become a guy who can actually make a positive contribution to a relationship instead of forcing the girl to invest and waste all her emotional labor, why a girl like Momo? Who, again, would be better off actually finding the actual Ken Takakura of her dreams. Why not find another shy quiet girl similar to himself? The purpose of the years of self-improvement for Okarun wouldn't be to somehow turn himself into a Ken Takakura. It is impossible, plus he wouldn't be happy anyway. It would be to make him into a better Okarun. Still a shy, quiet eccentric guy but one who wouldn't saddle any girl who dates him with his cowardice, self-hatred and failures.

Ideally this work would have the girl and boy get through their crises together ... and then shake hands and go their separate ways as stronger people capable of handling life's challenges individually, including finding romantic partners that actually fit their personalities, lifestyles and interests. That is how Sonny Boy - the Madhouse isekai from 2021 that didn't get nearly the popularity that it merited - ended and how this should too.

Do not refer to women and girls as "females" here. -Mod

Quote:
Yes, I will fully admit that DAN DA DAN takes the coward's route by designing such a badass woman of experience to look like a smoking hot punk living eternally in her mid-20s.


Disagree. Anime/manga treats "granddad" characters no different. Best example: Dragon Ball's Master Roshi. Yes, normally he is in "old hermit with a cane and so off his rocker he walks around in a turtle shell" routine. But when it is time to fight? He reveals that the whole thing is mostly an act to get girls. Off goes the turtle shell and tunic - though he keeps the shades! - and the guy has 1980s (meaning before steroid testing) professional wrestler muscles.

Not the only example by a mile. Tons of manga and anime granddads are like this guy from A SLICE OF LIFE SHOW: https://my-senpai-is-annoying.fandom.com/wiki/Futaba%27s_Grandpa
And as Futaba is in her 20s instead of being a high schooler, this makes this 6'5" grandpa very likely even older than Momo's grandma!

When you go down to his profile picture, click on "Anime" to really see what I am talking about. Not only is he usually shown riding around on his Harley while wearing a muscle shirt, but one episode had him and his equally geriatric buddies going deep sea fishing. For swordfish and sharks. During a raging storm.

So the coward's way out would have been to depict her any different from how anime and manga often depicts action grandpas. Instead they went for consistency, which was the right choice.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 2129
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 11:55 am Reply with quote
They had me at the Creepy Nuts OP. This one and Mashle's are the best OPs of the year, with the animated visuals to match! I've been watching it over and over again too!

As for the show so far... I am loving how it wears it's innuendo nature on it's sleeve. The story is off to a nice start so far. I wouldn't say the show is thaaaaaattt amazing so far, but it's style and the relationship and banter between the two lead characters has a lot going for it. There's good writing and humor in there that's not afraid to get down and dirty.

*Dan*Dan*Dan*Dan*Dan*Dan*Dan*Dan*


Definitely the highlight of the season so far. I'm assuming it gets even better as it goes along. I'm guessing the story has hit upon something more people are starting to notice a lot about UFO culture, in that much of it is tied into the supernatural, and even demonology. So this is a very neat mix.


Quote:
Just about the only complaint that I could see people having about DAN DA DAN's premiere is the way that the shlocky alien abduction sequence sees our heroine Momo getting threatened with alien insemination.


M'eh...whatever... The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror did it first...
https://youtu.be/fDNVMPAkw14?si=eNcmSexTWz2IghQ0&t=40

Dr. Wily wrote:
Getting Rita Repulsa to voice Turbo Granny in the English dub is perhaps the greatest dub casting in the history of the medium.


FFFFFFFFFF!!!!!! Shocked

I've been watching the dub, and I actually prefer it. Having it day and date is nice!
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BaronViolet



Joined: 27 May 2018
Posts: 257
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 12:23 pm Reply with quote
@benzone dude you would be wise to remember that Roshi can get serious and kick ass or did you forget his actions in WT arc and the Demon king Piccolo arc! He was ready to die just to beat Picolo. He was more than just a pervert. Same with Jiriya. If you actually learned 2 look past the superficial elements you would see that there is more than meets the eye!
Also what right do you have to save Okuran is patience!? If you actually bothered 2 stop judging and read the manga you would know that Okuran is trying to better himself and not just to impress Momo. I will admit that he does fit into generic shonen lead role but he has an endearing charm that you won't find in annoying loud mouth idiots like Natsu. Are you harassing on him because he reminds you of yourself because you are being very serious about a fictional character? If momo heard you say that she probably tell you to shut up and mind your own business.
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Iron Maw



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 1:03 pm Reply with quote
benzone wrote:
garfield15 wrote:
Quote:
I hope you all have a tolerance for enthusiastic relationship cheerleading because I have become a diehard Okarun and Momo shipper. My soul will never be at peace until these adorable kids fall in love, get married, and slaughter some dick-gobbling aliens for their honeymoon.


You get me completely.


Nah. Momo, a smart, socially adept, athletic, attractive and capable female, should do far better than emasculated - who already was metaphorically before he became so literally - loser Okarun. How is Okarun any different from the isekai and harem leads that ANN writers and commenters skewer?


Because she not a shallow [ REMOVED ] who picks here friends and interest based on social status? For godsake she's psychic power wielding action-junkie loving gyaru, the modern symbol of anti-Japanese traditionalist values, she not a person who just goes with the flow. She and Okarun aren't rigid archetypes your making them out to be their camaraderie is core to that. I don't get how being an outcast means he's harem-isekai lead as if sort of thing depends popularity.

Quote:
Both of them remaining single would be an innovative choice. Why do they HAVE to be romantically involved just because they are teen co-leads? Or if they get romantically involved, why not with partners that are more similar?

Momo deserves a powerhouse more like herself; an equal. Okarun needs to spend YEARS bettering himself from his pathetic state - improve his grades and maybe pick up a trade, learn about the arts i.e. take a class to learn dance, painting or sculpting, get physically fit, learn some social skills and self confidence - or else he is just going to frustrate some poor girl with his issues, and then when she finally can't take it any more and inevitably breaks up with him, he is going to go vent misogynistic rants about her on some incel forum. And even after he puts in the work to become a male who can actually make a positive contribution to a relationship instead of forcing the female to invest and waste all her emotional labor, why a girl like Momo? Who, again, would be better off actually finding the actual Ken Takakura of her dreams. Why not find another shy quiet girl similar to himself? The purpose of the years of self-improvement for Okarun wouldn't be to somehow turn himself into a Ken Takakura. It is impossible, plus he wouldn't be happy anyway. It would be to make him into a better Okarun. Still a shy, quiet eccentric guy but one who wouldn't saddle any girl who dates him with his cowardice, self-hatred and failures.

Ideally this work would have the girl and boy get through their crises together ... and then shake hands and go their separate ways as stronger people capable of handling life's challenges individually, including finding romantic partners that actually fit their personalities, lifestyles and interests. That is how Sonny Boy - the Madhouse isekai from 2021 that didn't get nearly the popularity that it merited - ended and how this should too


Because one of Dandadan's core concept is romance between two people of vastly different social circles who end up bonding through a harrowing event reveal parts of their true-selves to one another and discovering a shared mutual interest in the paranormal, even if it initially comes from different places.

Like Okarun's disposition is what attracts her to him the first place subconsciously, because he's honest in ways, especially compared to those with lots of popularity and friends aren't. His past of being bullied and isolated makes him more likely to hold on to the few relationship he's formed because he has little else. Its what has allowed Okarun to act ways he didn't think he was capable of and that kind of depth is what Momo really wants in someone rather than someone who puts on airs which in turn brings out the best her which is Momo's compassion. Its not if Momo herself isn't full of faults either, so its not about someone being better or worse than her. I don't how you can reduce these messy but earnest kids whose bonds being built on discovering who they really are what they truly value in each other to mere tropes & projections given all the effort the story showing getting them closer together due to their natural chemistry.

Even just as friends no ones else will come replicating the kind of experiences Okarun and she are going through because the events of past 3 episodes were only sparked and driven by their contrasting personalities, flaws, worldviews and the eventually mutual care born out of all of that. Hell insistence in helping in Okarun both out of sympathy and sense of responsibility has even had byproduct of allowing her to reconnect with her grandma & the spiritual part for herself.

From what little we have seen in the first 3 weeks, its pretty darn obvious that they continued budding relationship can only improve their lives.

MODERATOR'S NOTE: Watch your language, --F
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2177
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 7:13 pm Reply with quote
I hope the characters develop nicely considering how the first there episodes treated Ken as a comic relief who has to deal with the fact that he doesnt have a crotch región anymore and he still hasn't Even given a time to shine. It does feel like a romcom sometimes but when it comes to supernatural stuff Okarun has tried controlling Turbo Grandma only to fail. I have no problems with Ayase but the first episode felt hard to laugh when the first scene was her boyfriend literally a abusing her and then the aliens trying... You know what... If these are the two leads they need to balance one another considering Ayase already fixed her relationship with her grandma while not a single soul seems to care Okarun disappeared from whenever he lives
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2576
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 7:54 pm Reply with quote
I think it's fair to observe there's a bit of wish fulfillment / pandering in choosing to pair up the otaku dude with crippling self-esteem issues with the conventionally hot out-going girl. It bothers me less in DDD than in most harem isekai, though, I think (1) because any romance seems to be mostly in the background right now, outside of Ayase's grandma messing with her, (2) Ayase seems like, well, a person, not just a way of fulfilling some fantasy Okarun may/may not have, and (3) the show has a really impressive dynamic look and feel, which certainly helps any other issues not stand out as much.

tintor2 wrote:
...not a single soul seems to care Okarun disappeared from whenever he lives...


Was also wondering about this. He seems to have spent the past few days jumping randomly about -- would love to get some insight into what his family life is like, and whether there's someone out there desperately looking for their wayward weener-less son. Maybe it'll swing back to a lens on his situation once this initial possession issue settles down, though?
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Iron Maw



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 8:33 pm Reply with quote
tintor2 wrote:
I hope the characters develop nicely considering how the first there episodes treated Ken as a comic relief who has to deal with the fact that he doesnt have a crotch región anymore and he still hasn't Even given a time to shine.


It really isn't kind of shounen. DDD isn't super serious to begin with (hence the level of humor in the show) and although the characters get stronger, this isn't what the story is about. Frankly both Okarun and Momo for the most part scramble about coming up with solutions on the fly while they go through trial & error to overcome their foes. Plus Okarun shined plenty last episode, had he not damaged the Flatwood Monster it wouldn't had been weak enough for Momo to pull off her last minute gambit. Its also worth noting that she as one who came up with the idea to have Momo adjust level of curse so they could use at all. He simply just didn't deliver the killing blow which is perfectly fine otherwise Momo basically have done nothing but keep him in check the whole battle. Fights in DDD are about teamwork, sleight of hand tactics and just surviving in general.

Quote:
It does feel like a romcom sometimes but when it comes to supernatural stuff Okarun has tried controlling Turbo Grandma only to fail.


DDD being a romcom and Okarun failing to control Turbo Granny have nothing to do with other tho. To begin with Okarun should be full possessed by the spirit at this point under normal circumstances. There is no mechanism outside of Momo's powers to suppress it. Unlike Momo he's normal person without any special powers at all. The curse at this point isn't boon, its a disease or affliction. He can't control nor does he have any desire to nor does he even have the time to do so. Okarun only making use of it when he can achieve his immediate of getting his member back and returning to normal life, hopefully with a friend in toe, so that this fiasco was worth something.

NeverConvex wrote:
I think it's fair to observe there's a bit of wish fulfillment / pandering in choosing to pair up the otaku dude with crippling self-esteem issues with the conventionally hot out-going girl. It bothers me less in DDD than in most harem isekai, though, I think (1) because any romance seems to be mostly in the background right now, outside of Ayase's grandma messing with her, (2) Ayase seems like, well, a person, not just a way of fulfilling some fantasy Okarun may/may not have, and (3) the show has a really impressive dynamic look and feel, which certainly helps any other issues not stand out as much.


The thing is we have at this point watched enough anime to know what wish fulfillment actually looks like and what it doesn't cause most of type of shows don't even attempt mask what they are about. Plus a If story about opposites meeting unlike circumstances is wish-fulfillment than nearly every narrative would qualify.

Like I'm not gonna say Okarun or Momo are most original characters ever but their camaraderie hardly unlikely either because they aren't just purely archetypes. Like Okarun is a loner, but he didn't approach Momo out of romantic interest, he doesn't resent her for being trendy & popular while he isn't. Heck he often backtalks Momo to her face which isn't something your typical potato does to a cute girl. Sure he has low-self-esteem but Okarun also lacks of self-absorb personality trails that would have him blame his problems on others while implying he's somehow special.

Momo is similar, she isn't just "the girl", she's aggressive, has strange tastes men in which ended up with her getting deadbeat boyfriends and is among the kinder of her type. Most kids wouldn't have even bother to help Okarun out at all, let alone continue converse with him after telling him off because they recognized they were in wrong. So their dynamic only works because they both have aspects that make them stand outside of their usual type and when they are together they best selves are display. So its a bit weird for some folks to gloss over that to gas up Momo while being reductive about Okarun because she's an extrovert and he's introvert.

tintor2 wrote:
Ayase already fixed her relationship with her grandma while not a single soul seems to care Okarun disappeared from whenever he lives


Quote:
Was also wondering about this. He seems to have spent the past few days jumping randomly about -- would love to get some insight into what his family life is like, and whether there's someone out there desperately looking for their wayward weener-less son. Maybe it'll swing back to a lens on his situation once this initial possession issue settles down, though?


Its only been two days since Okarun has been away from home by episode 3 (episode 2 happens the very next morning and continues for the first first half of episode 3). We only even meet even Momo's grandma because Momo brought him over to her house give him a change of clothes before they attempted to head back into tunnel to get his wiener back. Assuming Okarun's parent are even alive, they could easily just be out of town during this incident so there would be no reason to call home in the first place. Unlike them Momo's grandma is actually relevant what happening and the reason she even brought up at all was to foreshadowed Momo's spiritual powers. In contrast unless Okarun's parents are also special or have something to do with current situation there isn't a reason to bring them up.


Last edited by Iron Maw on Sat Oct 19, 2024 10:11 pm; edited 3 times in total
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yeehaw



Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Posts: 596
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 9:35 pm Reply with quote
Hanae Natsuki is really good as usual but I really love Wakayama Shion as Ayase. I've only really heard her as Yume in Gridman and I really loved that performance as well, she's becoming a favorite of mine real fast.
I like the show so far but man, I wish the aliens' whole thing wasn't rape.
Okarun gets comedy dick-erasure and with Ayase we get shots of her legs being forced open so the aliens can rape her with a very scary knife dick

Do we know what year this is set in? Because they have smartphones but one of Ayases friends is that style of gyaru with the dark and white makeup, isn't that style from like the early 2000s?

Ayases panties are really ugly
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
Posts: 14250
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 10:11 pm Reply with quote
Science Saru is utterly nailing this adaption of one of the best manga currently running right now.

Momo is as feisty and gorgeous as ever and Shion Wakayama is utterly killing it vocally.

Okarun is as endearingly dorky and opinionated as ever and Natsuki Hanae is, obviously, doing him justice.

Nana Mizuki as Momo's grandma is just...peak casting.

There's just so much style (and substance) which is perfectly encapsulated in the OP.

Action, romance, horror, sci-fi, comedy...if there is a genre, Dandadan is it and does it stupendously. And the anime is capturing that.
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Iron Maw



Joined: 29 May 2008
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 10:56 pm Reply with quote
MFrontier wrote:
Nana Mizuki as Momo's grandma is just...peak casting.


This was a role I'm absolutely not used to her doing but she nailed it. She got helluva of range! Its also worth noting that the dub cast performance is pretty stellar too.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2419
PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2024 11:59 pm Reply with quote
yeehaw wrote:
Ayases panties are really ugly

Blame the aliens who replaced hers with scifi experiment garb.

Show good. Momo's VA's delivery is refreshing.
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2576
PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 6:19 am Reply with quote
IronMaw wrote:
The thing is we have at this point watched enough anime to know what wish fulfillment actually looks like


Yeah, this is why I wrote "may/may not have".

IronMaw wrote:
Like I'm not gonna say Okarun or Momo are most original characters ever but their camaraderie hardly unlikely either because they aren't just purely archetypes


Yea, agree here, too. This is part of what I meant when I wrote that Ayase seems 'like a person'. Mm, and I think I'd extend that to Okarun, too, if a little bit less strongly at this point.
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yeehaw



Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Posts: 596
PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 10:21 am Reply with quote
FilthyCasual wrote:
yeehaw wrote:
Ayases panties are really ugly

Blame the aliens who replaced hers with scifi experiment garb.

Show good. Momo's VA's delivery is refreshing.


But she's still wearing them after she changed
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